Tucson Man Wanted For Questioning Kills Himself

TUCSON, ARIZ. TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) _ A 35-year-old man sought in two ''prime-time rapist'' attacks shot and killed himself when confronted by police, but authorities warned residents not to relax yet.

''I would caution the public that while we may have brought this case to a successful conclusion, people shouldn't let their guard down,'' said Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik.

The dead man was identified by police as Brian Frederick Larriva, an unemployed electrician who had served two prison sentences for armed robbery and burglary.

Police with arrest warrants surrounded Larriva's house before he arrived home Wednesday morning, said police spokesman Paul Hallums.

Officers did not immediately approach him and Larriva went into the house, then went into the back yard and held a gun to his head, telling officers nearby he did not want to go back to prison, Hallums said.

Although police tried to talk Larriva out of shooting himself, the man pulled the trigger, Hallums said. Larriva died of a single gunshot wound in the left temple, said a spokesman at Tucson Medical Center.

Hallums said Larriva was named in arrest warrants issued in connection with two 1985 attacks blamed on the ''prime-time rapist.''

Some 30 rapes and robberies over three years beginning Aug. 20, 1983, were blamed on an attacker dubbed the ''prime-time rapist'' by police because the initial attacks involved break-ins at homes during evening television viewing hours.

Neighbors of Larriva said he kept to himself in the home he shared with his father and several other family members.

Information on Larriva came from informants, drug dealers and an anonymous tip to a crime hotline, authorities said.

Dupnik said authorities were ''optimistic and hopeful'' that evidence will show Larriva was the ''prime-time rapist.''

Kathi Barber, a spokeswoman for the Pima County attorney's office, cautioned residents to continue security precautions taken because of the attacks.

She said Larriva's death was not a reason ''to start sleeping with your windows open.''